Suryakumar Yadav’s SMAT returns are decent so far, but India hope he delivers bigger runs before T20 World Cup 2026.
On the eve of the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan, Suryakumar Yadav felt he was missing the ‘autopilot’ mode in matches that he had in his training sessions. Quite confidently, India’s T20I captain claimed to be ‘out of runs, but not out of form.’ But his record has been quite poor over the last few months, including during the Asia Cup, when the Blue Brigade clinched the title.
Post the Australia trip, Suryakumar turned up for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26. Even though he has had decent knocks, none of these are impressive enough for the eighth-ranked men’s T20I batter.
Suryakumar Yadav’s recent struggle in T20Is
In the recent five-match T20I series against Australia down under, Suryakumar Yadav collected only 84 runs in four innings at an average of 28. His strike rate of 171.42 wasn’t the right reflection of his acid test in the series at the best score of 46. Even in the Asia Cup 2025, the right-handed batter bagged only 72 runs in six innings at 18. His strike rate was a touch over 100 with the best score of 47* runs.
Since the beginning of 2024, Sky has scored only 613 runs in 32 innings at an average of below 22. He carried a strike rate of 143.55 with four half-centuries with the best score of 75. In the last 15 T20 innings, his average has dropped to 15.33 for 184 runs at a strike rate of 127.77 with no fifty to his name. Meanwhile, he got three ducks in that period.
One of T20 cricket’s most feared batters looked fragile in the format for the last few months. It’s quite surprising that he has struggled only in the international contests. Since his return from injury to the IPL 2024, Suryakumar nailed 345 runs at a strike rate of 167.47 with three fifties and one century. Even in the previous edition, he got 717 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 167.91, thanks to five fifties.
There doesn’t seem to be a particular loophole in his game. However, his favorite pick-up flick shots have caused his downfall a few times. Apart from that, there isn’t any documented issue with Suryakumar’s batting. Even though he had been striking the ball sweetly in training, he lacks that same fluency on match days.
Perhaps the pressure of leadership has pushed back his batting skills. As a captain, Sky has notched up 714 T20I runs in 31 innings at an average of 25.50 with four fifties and one century. But when he wasn’t the leader, that average was over 43 with 17 half-centuries and three centuries.
Read More: Suryakumar Yadav’s average & strike rate see remarkable dip since assuming captaincy
Suryakumar Yadav’s decent record in SMAT 2025/26 for Mumbai
In Mumbai’s opening SMAT 2025/26 contest, Suryakumar played a fine knock of 47 runs in 30 balls. It was decorated with five boundaries and two sixes as they completed the chase of 159 runs against Railways in Lucknow. Two days later, he turned up at number four and got 35 runs in 30 balls as Mumbai claimed another chase by seven wickets.
Against Andhra, the 35-year-old remained unbeaten on 31 runs in 21 balls. Ayush Mhatre got 104* in 59 balls in that same clash as they completed the 162-run chase in 15.2 overs, by nine wickets. In the recent encounter against Assam, Sky got 20 runs in 12 balls at a strike rate of 166.66.
These are decent numbers, but they don’t match his skills in the shortest format. He will get 10 more T20Is against South Africa and New Zealand before the T20 World Cup 2026. It will help him rectify the mistakes and get his beast form back in the shortest format.
Captaincy isn’t a problem for Sky in terms of the team’s performance. Under him, India have lost only two T20Is out of 17 clashes since the beginning of 2025, along with two no-results and one tied affair. That means his issue lies only in the few technical and mental changes with the bat.
India’s next T20I series at home against the Proteas will begin on December 9 at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. Before that, Suryakumar will get at least two more SMAT games on December 4 and 6 against Kerala and Chhattisgarh, respectively. It is high time that he starts contributing more with the bat, impfrom a few small knocks.
Read More: Suryakumar Yadav has a staggering W/L ratio of 5.00 as skipper in T20Is: What is he doing right?
